


Patterns of a Captaincy

by desree_rd



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Humor, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Protectiveness, STXI Kink Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-07 14:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/749514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desree_rd/pseuds/desree_rd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Excerpt: There was a certain pattern evolving, Spock contemplated idly and with a worrying degree of resignation as he dragged his captain along the stone corridors of the palace, a firm hand on the other man's biceps. The theme and arguably most important fact of said pattern: trouble finds James Tiberius Kirk even when he is not actively looking for it, seldom as that lack of action occurs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patterns of a Captaincy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the STXI kink meme (only I seem to have lost the original prompt somewhere down the line), first posted Mar. 20th 2010
> 
> In case anyone wonders, I was too lazy to change the name Ni'irti once I realized just why it seemed familiar (and I didn't even watch SG1 - only apparently I did...)

There was a certain pattern evolving, Spock contemplated idly and with a worrying degree of resignation as he dragged his captain along the stone corridors of the palace, a firm hand on the other man's biceps.

 

**The theme and arguably most important fact of said pattern:**

_-Trouble finds James Tiberius Kirk even when he is not actively looking for it, seldom as that lack of action occurs._

Take their current mission for example: The Ni'irti were a peaceful, humanoid species. As a matter of fact, with the exception of a second opposable thumb on each hand, there were no significant differences from neither vulcans nor humans in appearance. Only recently had they achieved their first success at incorporating warp technology into a primitive form of space craft, reminiscent, of sorts, of earth's early struggles to break through the planet's stratosphere; a contraption humans had once called 'space shuttle.'

First contact had been made several months before Nero's disastrous strike against Vulcan and, subsequently, the entirety of the Federation. In the present time, eight months, three weeks and six days into her maiden voyage, the _Enterprise_ had been requested to accompany a delegation of ambassadors to the Ni'irti. A common-place mission, if not as adventurous as Jim preferred.

There really was no discernible reason it ought translate into an incapacitated captain, _'drugged,'_ as the good doctor would say, _'up to the gills'_ with a substance, a sample of which Spock clutched in the hand not currently keeping said captain upright and moving.

 

**Fact number two:**

_-Any and all odds Spock makes the effort to calculate as to success, possible dangers, first contact situations and/or anything else of interest have no bearing on the actual outcome of the mission._

Their successful attempt at stopping the Narada and destroying the threat Nero posed to the continued existence of Earth and, in consequence, the Federation was a prime example of how James T. Kirk was capable of defying the odds in such a manner that, what ought have been a suicide mission resulted in a modern day fairy-tale which promised to be recited for generations to come. There would, no doubt, be a motion picture to accompany the narration before long.

This mission, however, proved itself to be one of the variables on the other side of the equation. The captain had managed, without any real effort on his part, to turn a perfectly straightforward and safe assignment into a convoluted diplomatic incident.

Although, in all fairness, Jim was not exactly at fault – this time. Much as Spock, with his human eyes and as the only known human-vulcan hybrid of their times, had been an oddity among his peers, Spock's blond-haired, blue-eyed captain was an oddity among a race of dark-haired, brown-eyed humanoids who had never before known such a genetic curiosity. Even the peculiar form of Spock's vulcan ears did not stand out to the Ni'irti as boldly as Jim's bright blue eyes.

Suffice it to say neither the _Enterprise's_ first officer (not to mention the rest of the ship's crew) nor the Federation ambassadors took kindly to the attempted kidnapping of Starfleet's youngest, most infamous captain.

 

**Fact number three:**

_-At some point during the proceedings and without fail, Jim finds himself in dire straits._

If there was one thing Spock was inexplicably proud of, it was how much the captain had matured over the course of a scarce few months. Where, at the beginning of their journey, Jim would not have hesitated to sojourn to a separate, more private section of the palace with any potential suitors – _'just asking for trouble'_ as Nyota once put it – now he politely declined. Spock chose not to analyze too deeply the vindictive satisfaction coursing through his veins each time such advances were rebuffed.

The Ni'irti emperor's son and daughter-in-law, both bored and extremely confident in their own superiority as only the young and privileged tended to be, took an instant interest in Spock's captain, bordering alarmingly on obsession.

It was, therefor, unfortunate if not completely unexpected that the royal pair was unused to the experience of rejection.

Another sign of the captain's developing maturity was his disinclination to consume alcoholic beverages while attending a function in an official capacity. Consequently, Jim's sudden, unexpectedly inebriated behavior towards the end of the welcoming feast when, having been seated by his captain's side, Spock knew for a fact that Jim had not ingested any of the proffered wine, was a definite source of alarm and confusion to say the least.

“Maybe I just react badly to some of the food,” Jim had suggested when Spock had felt obligated to point out his change in demeanor. Far from being the norm, it was also not an unprecedented occurrence. Hence, Spock concurred with his captain's wish to retire to the _Enterprise_ to seek out Dr. McCoy while Spock himself would stay behind as the sole remaining representative of the Federation's flagship.

Not until an half hour later did he find out that the captain never transported back to their ship.

 

**Fact number four:**

_-Invariably, once Spock determines the existence of such dire straits, he takes it upon himself to return the captain to safety._

“What do you mean, Jim wanted to see me?”

It was not an unreasonable assumption for a first officer to want to be informed of his captain's health if said health had been in question. Dr. McCoy's reaction to his inquiry was keeping with a pattern, however, that Spock had been hopeful to have avoided.

The notable absence of the prince and his wife was cause for a less reasonable deduction, or, as the captain insisted, a _'leap of logic.'_

“Lieutenant Uhura,” he contacted the bridge, coincidentally preempting one of the doctor's imaginative diatribes on the captain's – and by association Spock's – lack of common sense and general propensity for idiocy.

“It would be incumbent upon you to locate the captain's transmitter within these walls in order for me to -” _rip his assailants to pieces_ “- ascertain his safety.”

“Again?” Lieutenant Sulu's voice drifted to his ears as Nyota commented, “Has anyone ever told you that your speech gets more stilted the more agitated you get?”

“Vulcans do not get agitated, Lieutenant Uhura.”

“Of course they don't.”

His disapproval of her sarcasm remained unvoiced when Nyota triumphantly declared, “There! I've got him!”

What followed was a variation of an increasingly familiar theme. Spock's forced entrance into the prince's private chambers left sputtering ambassadors and a highly offended emperor in his wake. Upon discovering the captain, reclining supine on a wide bed, halfway undressed and barely conscious, the young royal pair caught in an argument over a vial of liquid, the emotions in the room quickly shifted to aggravated ambassadors and one highly humiliated and apologetic emperor.

Disregarding the fury burning in his blood as illogical, Spock snatched the vial out of the princes hand, helped the captain to his feet and left the aftermath for the diplomats to handle.

“Spock,” Jim slurred as they arrived at the transporter platform, the only place in the palace where the shields surrounding the building allowed for a person to beam in or out. “I don't feel so good...”

Jim had barely spoken the words when he collapsed in Spock's grip.

 

**Which only confirmed another part in the pattern:**

_A visit to sickbay is, in most instances, not only required but unavoidable._

(After the first harried five minutes back on the ship, though, Dr. McCoy assured everyone present that Captain Kirk would be suffering from no more ill-effects in reaction to the Ni'irti aphrodisiac and would be _'back to his foolish, annoying self in no time at all.'_ )

 

**Fact number six:**

_There is a chance that, perhaps, Spock does not mind this pattern as much as he leads others to believe._

Nyota, of course, was the first one to notice.

“Admit it: you like playing knight in shining armor to Kirk's damsel in distress.”

“I fail to see the logic in comparing the captain and me to any medieval social classes of Terran history.”

Hope is a very illogical, very _human_ concept in the face of hard facts and overwhelming odds. Spock, however, did not deny that it had served his companions well during quite a few – what did the captain like to call them? – _'close calls.'_ As such, Spock held out hope that Nyota would remain the sole member of the crew to suspect any untoward... any _emotional compromise_ regarding Spock's relationship with his... the _Enterprise's_ captain.

And while 'emotionally compromised' was not a term he relished applying to himself once again, self-deception was not generally a vulcan behavior. More so, any self-deception was pointless when, back in his quarters, Spock found his body reacting to the situation beforehand in a (possibly) inappropriate but very definite manner (which might or might not have been one of the reasons the transition from lovers to friends had been so seamless between Nyota and Spock when they inevitably came to the conclusion that they made better friends than lovers).

In any case, it was illogical to endure an evolutionary sound and necessary reaction when there was a perfectly acceptable and easy way to _'take care of the problem,'_ to borrow another human euphemism.

Contrary to popular belief, inasmuch as the mysteries and legends surrounding Pon-Farr were popular knowledge, it was not the sexual act itself that caused most vulcans – _shame_. There was no logic in being ashamed of an act that had developed to ensure the survival of a species, even if most self-aware species rarely partook in said act for the sole purpose of producing offspring. The shame of Pon-Farr lay in the complete loss of control, the loss of self a vulcan male and his bond mate had to go through every seven years.

“Oh my God!”

Illogically, Spock did not immediately realize what he heard. When he did, he looked up to see Jim standing in the doorway to Spock's bedroom, half turned away, an unaccustomed red tint saturating the fair skin of his face.

“I'm sorry, I knocked, but you didn't open.”

“So you decided to use your override codes to gain entry.” Resisting the entirely human impulse to scramble for his clothes, Spock raised himself into a sitting position. Were he to feel anything at all, by rights it ought to be indignation, possibly even anger at the violation of privacy. Under no circumstances should it be fond exasperation.

“The computer said you were here. Anything could have happened.”

Jim Kirk would not be Jim Kirk if he let embarrassment hold him back for long. A sneaking glance turned into outright appraisal when Spock made no move to cover his nudity.

“You know, I didn't know vulcans jacked off. I kind of got the impression your people don't like submitting to such primitive urges.”

“We don't like to be ruled by them.” Which was a significant difference.

Spock was still not entirely apt at deciphering human facial expressions, but he knew the meaning of raised eyebrows. “Jim.” Spock stood up. For once, he didn't make an effort to conceal the twitching of his lips. “Just because we do not discuss our sexual encounters as casually as you do does not mean we do not enjoy the act itself.”

Jim's eyes flickered down his body and up again when Spock approached, but he did not back away.

“ _'Enjoy'_? Careful, Spock, you're admitting to emotion.” Full lips stretched into a slow smile.

“I admit to experiencing a bio-chemical reaction.”

Another thing Nyota once said: _'You two need to stop dancing around each other.'_

Extending two fingers, Spock brought them up to caress the side of Jim's face. Jim, however, turned his head and intercepted them to brush his lips against them. The art of subtlety usually surpassed his captain, but it was hard to misinterpret this invitation.

“Jim,” Spock cautioned, because it wouldn't do to misunderstand each other in this. “If this encounter is to occur, be aware that I do not take this lightly. And I do not share.”

“I was kind of hoping you'd say that.”

It was all the warning Jim granted him before the captain – and Lieutenant Sulu's expression was less figurative than Spock had imagined – _'jumped his bones'._

~ The End _  
_  



End file.
